1903: Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop)

The period around 1900 was marked by an awakening in the art world. As a counter-movement to the separation of art, and arts and crafts, an association of artists established itself in Vienna in 1903. Its members strove for a holistic artistic understanding of different lifeworlds. Together with the Secession and the School of Arts and Crafts, the artists of the Wiener Werkstätte were active in the areas of architecture, furniture design, glass and porcelain, and fashion. Despite a high proportion of women – for example, the ceramicist Vally Wieselthier – it is primarily the male artists, especially the founding members Josef Hoffman and Koloman Moser, who are well known today. After years of artistic and economic success, the Wiener Werkstätte came to an end in 1932 as a result of the global economic crisis.